Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Today, when one thinks of
weddings they don’t think of evil spirits. Weddings instead are seen as
celebrations—happy events.

But one wedding tradition
still observed today came about because of an ancient Roman belief. The Romans believed
brides had to protect themselves from evil. They thought merriment attracted
evil spirits—not to mention rejected grooms.

So a tradition began during
this time to assure the bride and groom were protected from demons and angry ex-boyfriends.

All the females in the
wedding party dressed the same as the bride. This was to confuse anyone or
anything with ill will. It was a trick to keep the wedding couple safe—so they
could get through their vows unhindered.

This belief of demonic wedding
crashers persisted well into the Victorian era when it finally petered out. At
this point brides began to dress more elaborately than the maids in their
wedding parties.

What lingers from this
protective ritual is the fact bride maids still dress in matching dresses—most of
them unflattering.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Pompeii was an ancient Roman
city near Mount Vesuvius along the west coast of Italy near Naples.

At noon on August 24th 79 AD
Mount Vesuvius erupted covering Pompeii in ash. In a 24-hour period
this volcano continued to bury the city, first in ash and debris and later with quick
moving

hot surges known as pyroclastic flows, which caused instant
death.

Two thousand of Pompeii’s
11,000 citizens died during this eruption. They were not aware they were living
at the base of a volcano for Mount Vesuvius had not been active in 1,800 years.

The site lay buried and forgotten for centuries until 1748 when workers building a palace for King Charles lll stumbled
upon it.

This discovery taught us a
great deal about everyday life in ancient Rome. For the city was buried but
intact—just as it had been 2,000 years before.

Pompeii was a
“playground”—resort city for many of Rome’s elite and wealthy. The areas rich
soil—a result of previous eruptions was used to grow olives and grapes for wine.

Left behind were elegant
houses, elaborate villas, open-air markets, small factories, artisan shops,
taverns, cafes, a multitude of brothels and small prostitute cripes, bathhouses
and a 20,000 seat arena where animals and Christians were sacrificed for the
amusement of the Romans.

Also left behind were many hardened ash shells, which once encased human bodies. They captured the positions in which people died.

One archeologist filled these
ash shells with plaster to make casts, which showed the last moments and even
the shocked expressions on these people’s faces as they died.

For years it was believed the
victims suffocated from the ash and gases but a recent study revealed they
actually died from extreme heat. “They were shocked into a sort of instant
rigor mortis.”

Lapanare Pompeii's
mail brothel.

One aspect of Pompeii’s
culture was kept secret or hidden away for years after the city was unearthed.
It had a massive sex-trade culture that was depicted in erotic art displayed
throughout the city.

In 1819, King Francis l of
Naples while visiting the Pompeii exhibition with his wife and daughter was so
embarrassed by this erotic activity he had “the evidence of it” covered up or locked
away.

Mount Vesuvius is the only
active volcano in mainland Europe. It has erupted over 50 times. The most
recent was in 1944 during WWll where it damaged planes at a nearby airfield.

Experts expect it will erupt
once more within the next 25 years. This is a tragedy waiting to happen for 1.3
million people live near this volcano today.

Among the thousands of people
that have visited the site, many have visited after dark, they have witnessed strange activity which leads some people to believe that the tragic 79 AD
eruption left many lost souls behind in Pompeii.

The ruins of Pompeii
seemingly normal during the day take on a different feel from dusk onward. People have reported a feeling of eerie doom permeating the area.

Pompeii at night.

Some even take this a step
further stating the area feels evil or sinister. Adding to this strange atmosphere is the ever-present
smell of sulfur.

Witnesses have reported
hearing blood curdling screams as well as seeing dark shadows. These “shadow
people” are seen briefly before they disappear.